Hush, Hush Fairy
by Elainebutterfly
Summary: Jace was a normal girl in Seattle, Washington. Had two best friends, dreamed to be a musician, watched dozens of anime, and was ready to finish her last year in high school. But dreams couldn't beat her fate. Four unusual strangers took her away without warning...to a world known as Earthland. Earthland has one enemy: Zeref. And Jace has something to do with stopping him, but sh
1. Chapter 1 (03-12 23:47:44)

Chapter 1: Incidents

I entered my biology room and my hair was across my eyes because of the stupid fan my old timer bio teacher Mr. Burns leaves on. I glanced on the smart board, high tech and all, and I was bewildered by the words lazily plastered on it.

Right next to Human Reproduction mysteriously adhered on the board was a written 69, which was probably written by a student. Someone said, "Finally."

Outside of the board was a ducked taped Barbie and Ken holding hands, naked but had the areas that were not to be seen patched with small post sticks.

"Heeeeey girl." My best friend Brit said next to my left ear. Brit, as always, had her hair perfect in fancy braids or designs in all occasions. This time her wavy blond highlights were crafted with two pig tails and black ribbons, almost making her look like she dyed parts of her hair black.

Her white collar had several buttons undone and our identical black jackets fit her hourglass body perfectly. She was already so pretty, but she didn't mind giving herself some smoky eyes and making her lips red.

"This is why school outlaws phone use in the school. Imagine people posting these kinds of things on Instagram or like late trend people would use, Facebook." She said, "Besides, this'll make me take my camera shot on HHY for the board education section. And then I would end up doing something productive. Like helping out with a tutor." She said.

"Brit." I said, "I believed that you would be into learning something like this." I said, she squinted her eyelashes together and gave a mischievous smile.

"This class is practically no use for muwah if I already know it." I rose a eyebrow.

"Brit? As a virgin?" Our little talk ended when our mechanical bell came out of the ceiling speaker, we sat on our table.

Who came in the room wasn't Mr. Burns but Coach Hags, unusually wearing brown dress pants, a white collar with a red tie, but still wore a USC cap.

Someone said a echoing "boo" but he ignored it. "Alright kids. As for those who are unaware," some students gave looks and some bits of their snorts or laughter. "Sex is a female and male process at which when the pair ends up a fifteen minute notice of having a backseat in a car. That involves science. What is science?" He said.

"Boring." Someone said, he points at him to give a warning while everyone's laughter lasted about a few seconds.

"Just because you guys just woke up doesn't mean you guys can start goofing off. Class time people!" He raises his voice and we stopped. "Jocelyn Beckett?" He calls out.

"I go by Jace." I said raising my hand.

"Whatever. What do you think?" He said. "Of science in a proactive manner." He finishes.

"Science is the study of life." I said.

He sits on the swivel hair and points his index finger in the air. "And?"

"Knowledge gained through experimentation and observation." Fantastic job Jace. You sound like Hermione Granger or a audiobook.

"Good." He looks to Brit, "How about you miss Britney Rhodes. And in your own words." He used his hands to quote his last remark.

"Science is a investigation." She said proudly.

"Alright then." He looks at all of us. "I've got a note today from your sick, Mr. Burns, to switch everyone's seats."

Brit kicked my leg and I knew how she felt about it, I didn't like it either. "Um Mr. Burns, it's the end of 1st semester." Brit said.

"And I was told to change seats." He said with a mean tone.

I quickly looked around the room and reviewed myself who everyone was, and did know everyone's name...except one. And after Coach called out our seat arrangements I did end up sitting next to the unknown blond haired guy. He had spiky thick hair that was all out but suited him. I awkwardly got on my seat and slouched on my seat feeling down, dropping my white Jansports that was decorated with anime symbols and not-too-hard characters I drew. I really didn't like the idea of sitting away from Brit.

"Alright class! We're doing a little partner class project." He said and some student mutters displeasure. "Human reproduction comes with feeling, partner knowledge, and trust. You're going to just have to learn about each other and make an at least fifteen info point." We all looked around the room, everyone had partners of the opposite sex. "Twenty minutes." He said and everyone starts up a conversation.

I unzipped my backpack, taking out my creative hand-made anime binder, and took out a sheet of paper. The guy didn't hold a backpack or wore our school uniform, wearing a white, blue, and orange baggy jacket, blue jeans, and a thick funky headband. "Um excuse me?" I said. He faced to me and I looked in total shock.

"Uh hi. Jace was it?" He said in a cool and deep voice. It felt like dèja vu, and he looked so familiar. Plus he was attractive.

I refreshed my mind and looked at him. "Y-yeah..." I said sheepishly while I tucked my hair to the side. I looked into his eyes and they were cold and black and almost hard to look straight into. I distracted myself by looking at the clock. Fifteen minutes. "Okay. Right." I took out a pencil. "What is your name?" I asked in a questionable tone.

"Peter Parker." He said. I let out a small snort. He rose his eyebrow, "What?" He said.

"No-no. Don't get the wrong idea." I controlled my laughter. "I just never heard of anyone who has the same name as Spider-Man." I said. He didn't react to my comment and still looked at me. "You do know who Spider-man is, right?" I asked.

"No, can't say I do." He said. I scribbled on my paper: 'Not a movie person' and 'Name is Peter Parker'. "Do you have a birthmark?" He asked getting closer to me.

My eyes widens but I quickly made myself cool. "No." I lied.

"Do you live with one parent?" He said.

"No. I live with my parents like everyone else." I lied again.

"Are you seventeen?" He asked. 'What is up to with his questions? This is a all grade class.' It was weird how specific that question was, he could have just asked how old I was. "Were you originally born here? Do you live close to Westridge?"

I blinked several times to keep up with my thinking. 'Does he KNOW me?' "No and no." I said immediately. "We're suppose to learn about each other's liking, personality, and who we are. Not our personal life, like where I live." I said seriously.

"Sorry. Didn't mean to make you feel bad." He looked away scratched and the back of his head with guilt.

"It's alright." I said kindly and clicked my pen and gave it to him. "Now. At least let me ask a question. What's your favorite color?" I asked.

"What's yours?" He said with his hand on his cheek, leaning on it.

"I asked first." I said.

"Then I won't answer." He said, teasing me.

"White." I said and with a sigh and formed a small smile.

"Blue." He said with a smirk.

"See? It wasn't that bad." I said teasing him back. "Are you a only child?" I asked while writing 'Favorite color is blue'.

"Just an only child." He said in a tone that made me look at him. His eyes looked colder and his mouth was tight closed, I had a weird feeling rushing into me and I had a good guess what was going on.

"N-never mind." I said and put down my pencil. He seemed like he a very laid-pack person, toned and muscular. I wrote down 'athletic'. "Do you play sports?" I asked.

"No." He said.

"What do you do?" I asked. The bell rang and everyone started heading off.

"Nice meeting you Jace." He said and and was already by the door when I turned to say something else. I was about to bolt up and run after him until Coach called my name.

"Jace. Come up here please." I walked up to him and the classroom became empty. "So you've met the new student?" I nodded a yes. "You're are not in trouble Miss Beckett, and what I see is that you have incredible grades here." He said flipping through the papers. "And that is going to be very helpful for Mr. Parker. I want you to tutor him." He said and my jaws dropped,

"But Coach--."

"And there will be no buts." He said lifting his number one finger.

"But what does he think of this?" I said.

"He's the one who actually asked for help, for you." He said.

My head jerks back and I made a questionable face, blinking again as if I didn't understand a thing he said. "B-but--."

"You will be late for your next class Miss Beckett, today is a short period day as well." I nodded and left the room, slamming the door with frustration.

"Jace! JACE!" Brit runs up to me and grabs both my hands. "Can you believe it?!" She squeals and jump, making me see stars in the air.

"W-what?! WHAT??!!!" I said and she stops.

"Sorry. It's just..oh my Shinigami! That guy you sat next!!!" She squeals again.

"Yeah?" I didn't see why she was freaking out.

"Hello J~?! Didn't you pay attention to his outfit? Not to mention his looks." I shook my head. "His cosplay!!! From Fairy tail? OVA 3! He dressed up like Gray Fullbuster's disguise outfit! It's practically identical to the real thing!!"

I thought about it for a minutes and looked in surprise. "Oh my god you're right." I said.

"Hey girls!" A teacher said. I realized that we were the only ones in the hallway.

"Today is the big day! Don't be late!" Brit said as she left, "Don't be late for class!" I said and we started running towards our third period class.

"Miss Beckett." Mrs. Durhams said with her heavy, British accent. My plan of sneaking in without notice didn't work. I sweat-dropped and stood there hopelessly. "You are late." She said coldly, fixing her grandma glasses that were attached to her beaded necklace. Some kids snicker as the teacher gives me the tardy note, "You are lucky that this is your first time having a tardy. Now sit." She orders and I sit on my seat, all the way on the far back of the classroom that I despised so much. I sat in the annoying-popular-and-snotty-kids zone.

This classroom is just as fancy as the school. Stairs on each side, the long arched tables stretching across the large classroom. It looked very close to the style of Harry Potter or Vampire Knight classrooms.

"Sean. I can hear and see you chewing gum." With a another snicker rising, Sean Park, gave out his useless excuses and whines.

"Sorry we're late!" With a huge burst, out classroom's wooden doors was flung open. A blonde girl breathed heavily as she stood there.

The moment we saw her, all our jaws dropped. She was wearing a red playboy-bunny outfit with brown tights, including white bunny ears. The guys were whistling and google-eyed her.

"Gah..." I looked in total shock with my left eyebrow twitching. 'What the hell?!' I thought.

"Young lady! What on earth are you wearing?!" Mrs. Durhams exclaims.

Behind the bunny girl was a red head that wore a white kitty outfit. Not those cute, innocent kitten onesies. It was a leotard. "Are we in the right room?" She asked, her voice mature and cool even though she wore such a gaudily outfit.

"I don't think you two are in the right SCHOOL! Who gave you permission to dress like that? So unladylike of you both!!!" She bellows. I felt a little bad for the girls, they both were about to put up with that witch. For most of us, it was strange of those two wearing those kind of things. This is the school for the rich.

The red head hands Mrs. Durham a note. "What is this?" She said still flustered with anger.

"A note from the office." The red head said.

To my surprise, Mrs. Durham's eyes widens and she nods, showing a sign of forgiveness. We all leaned on our tables to inch closer to pay attention to the scene. "I-I...apologize." She said in a way we all never experienced. "Sit at the back, where the open seats are." She was talking about where I was sitting. She hands them a pencil and a brand new notebook.

The sound of the girl's heels echo in the classroom, the boys and the girls turning there heads to follow. I looked away from contact and they finally sat.

Mrs. Durham clears her voice. "Alright." She slams the ruler on her desk and, as usual, gives us all a jolt. "Just because it's the last week before break doesn't mean that you can all party or..."slack" off." She said. "Now we will do a quick review of the Odyssey and the myths of the Gods of both Rome and Greece." She said and pressed the remote control button, having the large smart board to illuminate the classroom and connecting the board to our tablets.

I knew that she was talking and pointing here and there about the Powerpoint, but I didn't care to listen to the things I've learned billions and billions of times. I started playing on a tablets that was connected on the table in front of me. Being able to crash the system and unlock access without the teachers permission is easy as pie. But a crunched up paper was thrown to me and I looked to my right.

The blond that was to the right of me, two chairs away to be exact, looks at me and points to the paper. I took a deep sigh, shook my head, rolled my eyes, and opened the paper.

"What is your name? I'm Rose Tyler. And my friend here is Starfire."

She wrote.

I looked in surprise, 'Wow...three tv characters in one day.' I thought.

"That's cool. I'm Jocelyn Beckett."

I wrote.

"What's Greece and Rome?"

I scribbled on the paper.

"They are the two countries at the other side of Earth in Europe."

She wrote on it again and passed it to me.

"Where is Europe?"

She wrote.

I sweat-dropped. 'Is she kidding?' I thought.

"Miss Tyler." Mrs. Durham said. "Since you seem to you know everything about this lesson and have decided to not listen, I'd like to hear from you what was the name of the island in Greek mythology that the King Odysseus lived in and left for the Trojan War."

Rose didn't even know Europe, there was no way she was able to answer that question.

"Miss. TYLER." She said forcefully.

Feeling bad for her, I started streaming on the tablet.

"Whoa!" Someone yelped.

I grinned as everyone's tablet starts crashing, showing random images and glitches that caught their eyes.

"What on earth -?!" Mrs. Durham seem to have panicked. Quickly, I typed on my tablet, changing its course and typed the answer to Rose's tablet. I looked to Rose and she looks down to her tablet, looking in surprise and winced at me with a smile. I went back to my own tablet and fixed the other ones. Back to normal.

The students arose and stood up, chatting and murmuring. "Calm down calm down! The system is back to normal." She mutters something while shaking her head, "Now. Miss Tyler?" She said fixing her hair.

"Ithaca." Rose said and gave me a quick look to me.

"Very good." She said and went back to the board to say something else, but the bell rung and everyone starts leaving their seats.

"Hey!" Rose came up to me with a smile. She came closer to me next to my ears, "Thanks for the help." She moved in front of me and smiled, I smiled back.

"You're welcome." I said and started getting off my seat.

"Can you..help us with going around the campus?" She asked. "We don't know our way around." Starfire, I think, said.

"Well I-." With a huge grip, I was pulled back. "Hey!" I said.

I looked in surprise when I saw him. "Come ON!" It was Evan's voice, one of my best friends, and I nodded.

"I've got to go." I said running down the stairs.

"Bye Jace!" Rose said.

The both of us were running through the hallways and towards our usual room with Brit. "Have you forgotten today is THE DAY?" He said while running.

"No." I said grumpily.

"Jesus, woman, don't taut my arm off." He said. I realized I was gripping his hand and let go.

"Uh sorry." I said with my mouth shut. I looked up and did my usual crooked smile, mouth still shut.

Evan has chestnut brown hair, thick and kind of puffy, has a decent skin color of peach, and has hazel eyes. He also wore his nerdy yet classy black glasses. "Come on." He gestures his head and we entered through the door by unlocking it, leading us up the spiral stairs. "Are you nervous?" He asked.

"Are you nervous?" I asked.

He made a pause, "Well..maybe." I laugh a little. We made it to our spot where Brit, Evan, and I hang out. As soon as we got in, we were welcomed with the smell of makeup, hairspray, and perfume.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: The Day

Lucy's POV--

"What's with all the commotion?" Erza said with her hands on her hip.

The students were wilding up and rushing into one direction, I was staring at the ocean of people with the colors of white and checkered pants or skirts of red, white, and blue. The complements that were said to Erza and I stopped for about fifteen minutes, everyone was paying attention to something else except us two.

"We better find--." My voice was cut off when all the students were being pushed into large double doors.

'Where on Earthland is Gray?' I thought. I looked side to side and realized Erza was far away from me. "Erza!" I yelled. For a moment I thought someone just grabbed my ass and I shrieked. So many students were around me and I felt super uneasy. I'm claustrophobic, and that means I HATE being cramped and touched.

"A bunny girl!" Some boys excailmed, and I think I heard some whistling. I sweat-dropped and ducked down, crawling between people and heard some small commotions of guys. Thank the gods Erza must be there. "Erza!" I yell once more time. I found her and she found me, following Gray as well. I was finally next to them and Gray said something but I couldn't hear through the loud students. "What?!" I cupped my ears.

"I--" Our conversation was disturbed with the roar of screams and cheers of the students, jumping and getting excited.

"What is going on?!" I said as loud as I could.

Lights flashed before us, smokes and colorful rays spewed in the large room, and centered to a stage. Three figures rise up from the ground, somehow, shadowed by the white light behind them and I couldn't see them to identify who they were.

"Are you ready Harley High school?!" The center person, and I figured from the silhouette it was a girl, fisting her hand up in the air. The students wild up even more.

"We can't hear you~!" The left side person said, who had a distinct feminine voice. They got louder and louder and cheers. More lights bursts out and makes them more visual.

In the center was a girl holding an instrument with short platinum hair, wearing a sleeveless black corset over a white blouse. The frilly designs and golden buttons going down between her chest made her look so cool, she even had a white skirt with a white petty coat under, black boots up to her knees, and a bow on the side of her head. The other girl holding a larger instrument had aqua blue hair but tied in high twin tails, with black kitty ears, a black leather crop top, a tight, white skirt that had a cutting edge to the side of her thigh, and had blue pinpoint high heels. Finally, there was a guy with red hair that was styled with a bunch of layers and long behind a drum set, a gold crown on the side of his head, a heart painted around his right eye, wearing a black coat that had a gold chain to support it's hold on his shoulder, a white blouse that had a low v-neck, and a vest with the colors of red, black, and gold.

"Whoa! This time the theme is Wonderland!" Someone said close to us.

"Fairy Tale! Fairy Tale!!" They chant.

"Fairy Tail?" Gray said.

The bold red sign was lit up above them for display.

"No, it's t-a-l-e." Erza said. The platinum haired girl starts playing deep notes on the instruments to start out some song. Each time the musicians started to play, the students screamed louder and louder as they build this anticipation with the music.

They see you as small and helpless

They see you as just a child, surprise when they find out that a warrior will soon go wild

Prepare for your greatest moment

Prepare for your finest hour

The dream that you've always dreamed is suddenly about to flower

We...are...lighting

Straying from the thunder!

Miracles of ancient wonder

This will be the day we waited for!

This will be the day we open up the door

I don't wanna hear your absolution

Hope your ready for a revolution

Welcome to a world of new solutions

Welcome to a world of bloody evolution In time-your heart will open minds

A story will be told and victory is in a simple soul!

Your world needs a great defender

Your world's in the way of harm

You want a romantic life a fairytale that's full of charm

Beware that the light is fading

Beware as the dark returns

This world's unforgiving

Even brilliant lights will cease to burn

Legends scatter

Day and night will sever

Hope and peace are lost forever

This will be the day we've waited for!

This will be the day we open up the door

I don't wanna hear your absolution

Hope your ready for a revolution

Welcome to a world of new solutions

Welcome to a world of bloody evolution

In time your heart will open minds

A story will be told and victory is in a simple soul!

"WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!" The crowd screams.

"That was...amazing." Gray said. He was going head over heels on the lead singer, by the look of his face. 'Haha, I see why Happy does this.' I thought mischievously.

"You liiiiike her~!" I said.

"What? No!" Gray say flustered.

"Come on, now it's our chance." Erza said.

"Wait." Gray said making Erza and I stop our way to the door, just a few feet away.

"Gray, you know we don't have that much time. We--."

"I've already met her." He said.

Erza and I looked at each other, "We did too." We said in unison.

Jace's POV--

Brit stretches her arms out and plops onto the sofa. "That. Was. So. Much. FUN~!!" She said childishly.

I smiled with my arms crossed, "Great job. Your voice was beautiful as always." Evan said while he placed his hand on my shoulder with a bright smile.

"Thanks." I said with a smirk. We all took out our wigs and changed out of our costumes in the changing rooms.

"Let's go out tonight guys." Brit said putting on her high heels, changing into her "outside clothes", as she calls them.

"I thought Hang Out Night is on Fridays?" Evan said.

"It still is, but this is a exception." She pointed out. "And this is our tenth concert! We NEED to celebrate." She said drastically.

"Lets just hope that my mom says yes." I said leaning back on my right leg.

"Right..." Evan and Brit said.

"I've got to go home anyways right now, I'll let you guys know if I can. It's still noon." I said as I fling my bag on my back.

"And change into something else except those uniforms you wear!!" Brit hollers before I close the door. She always says that to me, I always wear some kind of collar with either a designed vest or suit jacket, a tie as always, and a miniskirt. With or without tights...Or really high socks. It's a habit of mine.

I let my hair down freely, untangling the tight braids that had to squeeze into my wig, and I got out of the academy and saw that it was raining. I ran towards our massive gates and showed my ID to the machine. The guard recognized me and I went to the parking lot, making my way through the shinny expensive cars before me and made it to my white Fiat. I flung my bag on the passenger seat, turning on the car, and the windshield. I drew out my breath and I leaned on the seat, "What a day." I said as I starred into the ceiling of my car. A smirk forms on my face and made myself laugh, "And a weird one too."

I thought of those three new students I met today and felt that there was something really, really familiar about them, but I coudln't pinpoint it. I drove my car out of the parking lot, passing the usual shops like Bath Body Works, Sephora, and Forever 21...But what caught my eye was Rose, Starfire, and Peter walking in the heavy rain and clinging onto their arms.

'Don't think about it Jace. Don't even...' I thought. I couldn't help it and steered my car a little too fast, making people honk at me and I parked right in front of them.

"Hey!" I yelled while the window rolls down. They saw me with not surprise but with a smile.

"Oh hey Jace!" Rose said.

I rolled my eyes and drew air out of my nose with disbelief. "Don't "oh hey" me! Get in!" I said.

They listened and open the door, Starfire jumping front and the rest in the back. I turned my back and faced them with my right hand settled on the passenger seat. "What were guys doing out there in the rain?" I said.

"Walking home." Starfire said.

My mouth formed a crooked frown and I shook my head. "Don't you guys have a car?" I asked.

"No." Peter said.

"Where's your house?" I said as I start the car again.

"You're going to drive for us?" Starfire asked.

"Well I'm not gonna leave you guys out there like hoboes and freeze to death." I said.

"What are hoboes?" Peter asked.

'This day is getting weirder and weirder.' I thought. "Never mind." I said.

"Jace, what time is it?" Rose asked.

"Don't you guys have a phone to check the time?" I said, no one answered. "You know what? Never mind." I sighed, "Let me just drive."

We were driving for about a silent five minutes and I noticed how they were all soaking wet and shivering. I stopped on the stop light.

"Where are we going?" Starfire said.

I looked at the mirror and faced to them. "My place."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Eternally Grateful

My mom's Mercedes was nearly indistinguishable from every other silver Mercedes lining by cul de sac. As I pulled into the driveway behind my mom's car, I happened to glance at my neighbor's front lawn, which looked like Mother Nature threw up flowers from the roof to the mailbox in front of Mr. Ashton's house.

"Jace!" My mom was sitting by our kitchen island while I was throwing my wet shoes into our shoe bim, leaving the three in the car. "Where have you been? You're fifteen minutes late from coming home as usual, I began to worry and thought something bad must have happened to you." She said.

"I know, I know. I'm sorry." I said, but I didn't have time to look at her upset face. I was running upstairs to grab some spare clothes and towels.

"You're not going to tell me how your performance went?" Her voice echoes from below.

'Is this t-shirt too big?' I thought to myself when I found my dad's old t-shirts.

"Well?" Mom asks, all loud and peppy.

"Great!" I offer. As if to prove my point, I smile like she was in front of me.

The faces of Peter, Rose, and Starfire float across my mind. The performance went perfect but I was here worrying about those airheads.

Despite being tired, I felt good. I felt different and I liked it. Taming my wavy hair, I pulled half of it up and pinned it behind my head. Straightening sounded like too much work today. Back in my room, I pulled on a hoodie and was ready to go.

There was a knock on my door. "Yep?" I called.

The door opened and my mom came through. I didn't like the look on her face. "Jacey, is there something you want to tell me about?"

Panicked lists streaked through my head. What had I done? Did I get back too late? "Uh, don't think so," I replied, trying to sound calm as my heart picked up its pace.

"About those strangers in your car, maybe?"

Lightbulb. "Oh yeah," I groaned. "They need some spare clothes, they helped performing with us today."

She watched me disapprovingly. "I'm surprised you forgot to mention it. It has always been the three of you in the band. Be honest, Jace."

I would have much preferred to have just said they're are foreign exchange students and needed some tutoring. "It was last minute, their costumes went well with our theme, and we needed some chorus," I explained.

"I'll invite them in," She sighed. "Try parking in the back of the lot, Jace."

"Mom, it's winter," I protested. "I don't want to park out in the middle of nowhere and freeze to death walking inside. Not to mention, my car is small. He'll camouflage in the snow and I'll never find him."

"You're wearing a skirt," she observed. "It's perfectly warm outside with a little water."

I huffed. "Not for long."

She frowned again. "Well, I don't know what to tell you. Have fun with Brit today." She handed me a credit card. "Be reasonable. One dress. And get yourself lunch while you're out. You look tired, and I don't want your blood sugar to get too low. You know what a grouch you become when you don't eat."

I smiled. "Thanks, Mom."

'Wait...did she say "I'll invite them in?"?????'

"Wait Mo-"

Right on cue, I heard our large front door open.

"Well, well, well, I didn't know Jace was a noble." I heard from below.

"A noble?" My mom answered back questionably.

When I ran downstairs with all the clothes, my mouth falls open. The three stepped inside and looking around my home, grinning from ear to ear.

Oh yes, it can get more humiliating.

"Hey, Jace," Peter says. He nods to me like us two are best buds. I didn't nod back. Mom smiles up to them.

"I don't think we've met," she says. "I'm Rumiko Beckett."

"Starfire," She said, "And these are my siblings, Rose and Peter."

"Siblings? You guys hardly look alike." I said.

My mom quickly turns her head to me, "Jacey, you need to apologize," she says under her breath.

"Mom."

"Now."

Rose stepped in, "It's okay Miss Beckett. We're adopted." She scans my mother's appearance, "You guys don't look so alike to me." She said innocently.

My mom looks at me again and laughs from Rose's comment, "Your friends are so funny Jacey." She commented and laughed some more, "We get that a lot, she got most of her looks from her father." She said, "Please, come in. I will make some tea for everyone." She gestures them to come inside.

One, I was just planning on giving them some dry clothes and drop them off from who-knows-where. Two, I know I don't know them but I was just trying to be nice! Three, I can't believe I lied to my mom, and if we start up some kind of "Tea Time Conversation". I'm done for.

"Mom, they actually have to go back home. Their parents would be worried if they're late too."

"Why not?" She said to me in Japanese.

Peter made this little smile, "It's okay, we have to go anyways." He said back, in frickin' Japanese.

My eyes widened, his voice was seriously familiar the minute he spoke Japanese. But my mom was surprised too, but she laughs once again, "Well, that's too bad then. Let me at least grab some cookies I just baked."

Since my mom was busy getting to the kitchen, I turned around and gave the three a "listen-to-me-or-you're-going-to-regret-it". I pushed them towards the front door and jabbed my finger at my car. "Go back in the car." I said through gritted teeth.

"Can we borrow some umbrellas at least?" Starfire asked.

I rolled my eyes, "Fine." I said, grabbing three umbrellas from the storage closet and threw it at them. "Now go!"

The three shrugged at each other and listened to what I said, walking quickly to my car. While I was putting my shoes back into my feet, my mom noticed the three amigos outside.

"Leaving already?" She said to me.

"Yeah, like I said, they need to go." I said hurriedly, "I'm gonna come back a little late tonight. I'm gonna meet with Evan and Brit at the mall and then go to the movies."

She crossed her arms, "Make sure you use that card." She said, and gave me a kiss on my forehead, "I love you." She said, handing me a container of cookies she baked.

"I love you too." I rushed out of my house, the extra clothes and cookies in my hands, and got inside my car.

My car moves at last. I resist looking through my mirror or on my right to check on the three as I push through the throng of cars in front of me. "So you guys live close to the school right? Since you guys were walking." I asked kindly.

No one answered my question as we stopped on the stop light, and even before I could ask them the question again my phone started to ring. It was Brit.

I clicked on the Bluetooth button and it made a little bleep, reminding me that it was connecting with my phone. "Heeeeey girl. What time are you coming to the mall? I'm almost there."

"Sorry Brit, I'm gonna be a little late." I said, avoiding to tell her the reason why.

"She's driving us around Brit!" Starfire yelled loudly into the speaker.

Peter laughs from behind, "I think she can hear you clearly."

"No. Way." Oh no, "Jace you have the new students in your car?!" Brit exclaimed.

I gave Starfire a ugly look, but she didn't seem to realize why I was so upset, "Yes, Brit. I'm just dropping them off and then I will go straight to the mall alright?"

"Okay, seriously?! Even that hot one in the cosplay?"

I gasped, "Brit! You're on speaker! He can hear you!"

"Oh, I wasn't talking about the scarlet haired girl." She said and giggled, "So you think he's hot?!"

My face flushed with heat.

"I'm gonna hang up, and then I'm gonna hang you Bridget Rhodes!"

She giggles again, "Well you can't, I'm immortal." She said, "See you at the mall! Maybe you can take your hottie with yo-"

I jammed my finger on the screen and hung up immediately. Air escaped out of my nostrils as I tried not scream, from anger and embarrassment.

"Jace, what time is it?" Rose asked.

"Don't any of you at least have a watch?" I said, no one answered, again. "Anything?" I realized that I was aimlessly driving around, the buildings disappeared and the big, green Seattle trees replaced them, "Great, now I don't know where I am."

"Actually," Peter said, "Here is perfect, we just live in a cabin close by."

Drawling in my uneasiness, I didn't look at him in his eyes. I was still embarrassed about earlier. He gave me a quite smile, one that amplified the gentle contours of his face, the curve of his lips, the little line beside his right eyes that appeared when he smiled - a smile I felt I'd seen a million times before.

"Oh, okay.." I waited, looking at the mirror, "Are you guys sure? I can drop you guys off at your place if it's not far." I suggested.

"We will be fine, Jace," Starfire said, "We will be eternally grateful of your kindness." She said, and bowed in respect.

I looked at her a little surprised, "N-no problem." They stepped out of my car and waved goodbye under my umbrellas and I waved goodbye as well.

"We hope to see you around!" Rose said in her chirpy voice.

As I drove away, something was telling me that I would. But who was I kidding? They're not really interested in me, not someone like me.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Strong Coffee

The rest of the evening went by without any more incidents. Evan brought his friend Landon, and the four of us were able to have a good time. I halfheartedly agreed to get some outfits like my mom asked me to, and Brit was more than happy to join the crusade. After watching Thor: Ragnarok, I found Brit and Evan by the exit. She frowned at me as I walked up to her.

"What? Wasn't the movie good?"

She shrugged, "It was cheesy, but it was good."

I rolled my eyes, "Brit I said I'm sorry I came a little late!"

"A little? We missed the four o'clock showing and had to wait till eight-thirty!"

"At least we had time to eat between." Evan muttered.

Brit smiled, "Whatever, it's really not a big deal." She was my school's star forward, so of course whatever she thought was awesome everyone else agreed was awesome too. "So what's up with this party Friday? Is it still happening?"

My eighteenth birthday was on Saturday, the ninth, and I planned to have a party Friday night. For some reason, the entire school had picked up on it and the general consensus was that it was going to rock. I wasn't wildly popular or known for amazing parties, but usually any party at my school stirred up a fair amount of buzz. That was what happened in a suburban Seattle high school like Harley High, I supposed.

"Yeah," I said tiredly. "We just need to keep the number of guests down. My mom is going to kill me if a hundred people show up."

"Too late," Brit chimed in. "This is the first party of our senior year, so of course everyone is going to be pumped about it. The masses are growing restless. It's not like you're Leper Girl or anything. People do like you."

When we arrived at the parking lot, Brit let out a high-pitched squeal when she saw my car, my new one I got as a early birthday present.

"Ah!" she shrieked. "It is so cute! I approve."

"Thank you!" I said, beaming. "I named him Marshmallow. Isn't it perfect?"

"Oh my God, yes," She said, peeking in the driver's-side window. "Ruby wants him to be her boyfriend." She was referring to the name of her red BMW.

"You rich girls and you stupid names for your cars," Landon said, sighing as he checked it out. "500x, nice. I'll race you with my 370Z."

I laughed. "No way. I'm not going to kill myself, thanks, and why would you even bother? I'm pretty sure you'd destroy me in that thing anyways."

"Fine," he said, and turned to Brit. "Let me take on the E90."

She eyed him, grinning. "Keep dreaming."

"You ladies are wasting your cars," Evan said, examining my tires.

"It's really going to suck when we're freshmen at U-Dub and hate to leave our cars at home," Brit said, pouting.

"Did you send your application in?" I asked.

She nodded. "Yeah. Haven't you?"

I grimaced. My grades were never the issue, but I was still treading water. "Not yet."

"Well, do it quick," she said. "Spots fill up fast."

I made a mental note to start my application next week. None of them wanted to go anywhere else. But, of course I had wanted to go to Eastman or USC when I was ten, but my goals had gotten more realistic since then.

We went into Starbucks to order. I was happy not to have to worry about those strange students. At the moment, all I had to worry about was not spilling my coffee on my myself and not letting Evan get too close. He seemed to shift himself closer and closer to me as I watched him out of the corner of my eye. I wasn't claustrophobic by any means - but I soon would be if he got any closer.

Suddenly, I remembered my lit paper. I snarled at the ground. "I really need to get started on my paper."

Brit frowned. "Already?"

"Really, J," Landon said, flashing a stupid grin. "What's the point of drinking coffee at night if you're just going to go fall asleep?"

I shoved his shoulder playfully. "While your logic is flawless, it doesn't help me get to my paper done. This cappuccino will, on the other hand."

"Fine, fine," Brit said, waving her hand in a shooing motion. "You suck. Leave."

"You shouldn't tell me I suck so close to my birthday," I said with a grin.

"Happy Early Birthday!" She beamed.

"Thanks, lover." I gathered my purse and cup. I said good-bye and headed back out to my car. I glanced at my clock. It was almost nine, but the school should definitely still be open for the adult-education night classes. If it wasn't open, then at least I had a pretty good excuse to drive again. I could be optimistic when needed.

The grounds were weakly lit, and I found only two other cars parked in the student lot behind the building. The faint illumination was provided by the orangeish blotches beneath the parking lot lights, so I parked under one of them instead of in a dark patch. I figured I was less likely to get jumped here.

It was amazing how creepy this school got at night. I raced to my locker, yanked out what I needed, and stuffed it into my bag before jogging back out of the building. For some reason, outside it now seemed darker to me.

The light on the pole beside my car flicked and hummed. Something tugged on my body, and a hazy veil covered my vision. I had trouble stepping forward, and I looked down at my arms to see what was holding me back. The world - not just the air, but everything solid - stretched and melted away as if I were moving through a gelatinous wall. One more step, and I was suddenly free as burst of black smoke would around my limbs and cleared away, leaving the world normal again.

Halfway across the lot, I heard a distinct - and all too familiar - rumble.

The first thing I thought was that a bear was close by. But how? The whole campus was surrounded by a gate as tall as a light pole. But, there was that one time when a zebra from the zoo got loose. Maybe another animal found their way out of their cage too.

"Oh God," I whispered, halting in fear. After two excruciatingly long seconds I heard another growl rolling through the darkness.

I bolted, digging my hands frantically into my pockets for my keys. I pressed Unlock fifty times before I crashed into my car door.

A giant, dark shape flashed in the corner of my vision, and I screamed and ducked just as an enormous paw raked its talons across the front fender of my brand-new car.

I hit the ground, spilled my coffee and my bags, and looked up to face my attacker: I didn't know what it was!

As big as an Audi, loomed over me with one paw on the hood of my car. It looked down on me, covering me completely in its shadow, blocking out the streetlight, its chest heaving with every breath.

"I have found you, Bellator," the creature said in a deep, husky, but oddly feminine voice. "And now you are mine."

She grinned a mouthful of fangs and snapped at me. I screamed and threw my arms over my head. The THING laughed, her hot breath strangling me.

A shadow zipped behind it and suddenly she was sent flying over the Fiat. She landed and skidded across the pavement, digging her claws into the pavement and leaving white streaks behind.

I lowered my arms and looked up to find Peter standing over me. His skin beneath the tattoo on his collarbone glowed brightly in the streetlight.

"Are you hurt?" he asked, offering his free hand.

I took it, staring at him dazedly, and he helped me up. "The cappuccino... It must be the caffeine..."

His body stiffened, but something in my gut told me that it wasn't because of the chilly air.

I turned my head to follow his gaze, but I saw nothing in the street ahead. A breeze scattered a handful of already fallen leaves. I smelled something strange, like eggs and black smoke. "D-Do you smell that?"

He stepped around me to put himself between me and wherever he was staring. "Her magic is strong here."

"Her what?" I peeked over his shoulder. I thought I saw the shadow again, but when I blinked, nothing was there. It was too dark.

His gaze was fixed on something in the blackness. "It's not time! Stand down. I don't care what he orders you, unless you're prepared for the consequences."

He was clearly not talking to me. I was suddenly very aware that though I knew his name, I had no idea who he was. He and those two girls could have been playing with me. Somehow put something in my coffee and making fun of me while I'm drugged or high.

Another growl came, and then very heavy footsteps - like T. rex-shaking-the-water-cup Jurassic Park-style heavy footsteps.

"What is that?" I asked, trembling, my eyes searching the darkness.

"Come here," Peter said slowly, reaching back for me without taking a step. The look of worry on his face that I'd noticed earlier had deepened. Now he looked afraid, and that scared me a thousand times more.

"No way!" I cried, reeling away from him. His fear spun into frustration as I pulled away.

"Don't scream. You'll make her attack." Panic set in.

"Get away!" I shrieked, and tried to run, but Peter grabbed my arm. I twisted and pulled, but his grip was amazingly strong. It was like trying to drag an eighteen-wheeler; I couldn't get him to give even an inch. How could anyone be that strong? I started to pry at his fingers, but they were like solid rock.

And then I saw the monster: something vaguely resembling a huge dog covered in thick, black fur loomed over us, standing easily five feet tall at the shoulder. It lumbered over on all fours with a snout full of gnarled, vicious-looking teeth in the jaws of a heavy, oversize head. Its paws were the size of elephant's feet and ended in talons that looked like they could tear a man in half.

The beast leaped toward me, claws outstretched, and took a swipe with one of its front paws, but Starfire appeared between us.

She smacked the beast's forelimb with a blade and kicked full force into its chest, sending it flying back, shattering my school's statue of Harley Windsor into countless little chunks of stone and brick.

"Now!" she roared.

It thrashed like a giant pit bull and broke free. Quicker than my heart could pound, someone else was in view and shoving his fiery fist into its soft throat and straight through the top of its skull.

The creature's legs buckled as its fur shimmered oddly before exploding in flames. It happened very quickly. Fire devoured it, swallowing it in red light, consuming it until finally the head disappeared, leaving nothing but empty space and falling ashes where a monster had just been.

Then the shadows closed in around me.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: B(S)-Day

The next morning, my head and every muscle in my body hurt as if I'd run a marathon through six feet of snow in stilettos.

Fragmented chunks of the nightmare I'd had the night before spun through my head. Why was I still in my jeans and shirt? My hoodie, however, was AWOL. I dug through my dirty-clothes hamper and the blankets on my bed, but it was nowhere to be found. How had it just disappeared?

What if what happened last night wasn't a dream?

There was a knock on my door. "Is the birthday girl awake yet?" It was my mom. "Come on, Jace! Get up!"

I headed to the bathroom to shower, straightened the obnoxious waves in my hair with the flatiron, and tugged on fresh jeans and a T-shirt. I hopped downstairs to meet my mom in the kitchen.

"I made you pancakes, since it's your birthday," Mom said cheerfully, and smiling brightly, she presented a platter stacked high. "I know you didn't eat the ones I made you yesterday, so I hope you're feeling well enough to appreciate them more this morning."

"Thanks, Okasan," I said, sitting down at the counter to eat."

"Happy birthday, honey." She kissed the top of my head. "Love you."

"Love you, too. Did Dad call?"

"He had to leave early. He's got a meeting in London. He told me to tell you happy birthday and that he love you." She paused, "Did Albert call you?"

My smile vanished, "No, but you know. New York is three hours ahead, I'm sure he's working too."

Two dads: one stepdad and my biological dad. It's not that complicated really. Albert was the dad who left my mom and my big brother, and Gary is the one supporting our family in California. My little half brother is living with him for his karate training, and my big brother is doing his service for the U.S. Navy.

Mom's face brightened. "So I thought we would go get your present after school. Sounds good?"

My heart lifted. "Yeah."

"Okay, then. I'm going to get some work done before we take off for school." She turned to go back to her studio. "Make sure you eat. We'll go by the dealership after school and see what they have."

Awesome. "Hey, Mom?"

She turned back around. "Yeah, sweetie?"

"Why do we need to go to the dealership?" I wasn't sure what I expected her to answer with.

She frowned. "Oh, honey. You hit that deer on your way back from the theaters. We need to go get it fixed."

"Did you...hear anything last night? I mean like growling, like a huge dog or bear."

Mom gave me an odd look, gauging what I had just said. Heat rushed in my cheeks as I realized how stupid I'd just sounded. "It wasn't some nightmare?"

"No, I was awake."

She sighed and her lips tightened. "Maybe it was a couple of dogs outside fighting? I didn't hear anything. You wouldn't hear strange noises if you shut your window at night."

"I guess you're right." The consensus was official; It was just a dream and I was a lunatic.

When we left for my mom to drop me off to school, I happened to glance at my neighbor's mailbox, which lay in a pile of splinters. My neighbor, Mr. Kim, was picking up the wooden fragments and chunks of brick scattered across his lawn. A very clear memory from the dream crept into my head, and the blood drained from my face. A cold rush flooded through me as I stepped out of the house, dizzying me so much that I almost tripped.

"That happened last night," my mom said with a frown on her face. "It appears a sinkhole may have caused a driver to hit the curb and then Mr. Kim's mailbox. The neighborhood association is having someone come by to fill the hole in tomorrow. It's strange, since these things don't usually happen until spring."

I leaned back against my fence for support, my breaths long but dizzyingly shallow.

"Maybe that's what you heard last night?" Mom offered. "The loud noise you mentioned."

I watched Mr. Kim dump the remains of his mailbox into a wheelbarrow and haul it into his backyard. "Maybe."

I headed towards the front door after I threw my bag in my car.

"Honey, where are you going?"

I stopped my tracks and turned around, "Forgot my phone."

She nodded slowly and her brow flickered. "If you say so."

I ran up to my bedroom and dumped the contents of my wastebasket onto the carpet. I had to be wrong. My missing hoodie couldn't be in there. But right in front of me, in the midst of crumpled notebook paper, wadded tissues, and a candy wrapper, was my hoodie. I lifted it, gingerly plucking the hood up with two fingers. The cotton was shredded, stiff from something wet and thick that had dried all over it, and splattered across the sleeves and chest were dark dried droplets. The whole thing had a sour dog-drool smell laced with the faint tang of old blood.

Scrambling into the bathroom, I threw up into the toilet.

As soon as I got to my locker, I was greeted by Evan, who carried a vase of rose. My jaw dropped to the floor.

"Are you serious?" I asked, my gaze spilling over the lush bouquet.

"Happy birthday, Jace." He kissed my cheek. Any second I would implode from the sweetness.

He handed me the vase. "I don't want your birthday to suck, even though you ruined your Marshmallow. I hope this makes it better."

I wrapped my free arm around his shoulders and hugged him. "Thank you so much, Evan! You are too good to me. This is definitely making my day rock."

His smile widened. "I have to run to class, but I'm really glad you're happy. See you later."

"Bye!" I had to remove a pile of old papers from the bottom of my locker to safely make room for the vase. I'd known Evan for a long time, but he had never given me flowers before. What a doll. I was practically dancing on my way to homeroom.

Classes went just as I'd predicted they would. Boring.

My math test had been postponed until the following Monday, which was fine with me since I had no desire to take a test on my birthday. During third-period shop class, which I swear I was taking only to boost my GPA, we did nothing but sit at our tables and discuss the sanding projects for the following week.

Brit, Evan, and I sat in our usual place in the right-hand corner by the windows looking out into the courtyard. Landon, Mady, and Nathan joined us, and to my surprise and happiness, everyone avoided the subject of my accident. When I finished my lunch, I headed to the bathroom for a quick break.

As I washed my hands in the sink, something made me stop and take a second look in the mirror. My throat squeezed with fear as I stared at the right side of my face. Black things - spidery, threadlike lines - were creeping from my scalp and across my cheek and around my right eye, interlacing with one another Feat spun into revulsion as I rubbed my cheek hard, trying to smear the blackness away. The lines kept coming, getting longer and covering more and more of my face. I rubbed, but I couldn't feel them on my skin. Were they in my skin?

Half crying, half scared out of my mind, I grabbed a handful of paper towels and wet them under the running water. I rubbed my face vigorously with the wet towels, but when I lowered them, the lines were still there and my eyes had turned solid white like cue balls. I dropped the towels and backed away from the mirror until my back hit the solid frame of the toilet stalls. I covered my face with both of my hands, my fingers weaving through my hair, pulling it in desperation.

When I looked back up, I saw nothing on my face in the mirror but the streaks of tears. No black things. No darkness. They were gone. My eyes were normal again.

I splashed my face with cold water to dull the redness there and took several long, slow breaths to steady my nerves. When I felt confident enough to return to the cafeteria, I burst through the bathroom door, determined to forget what had just happened to me. As I rounded the corner, I turned right into Peter.

"Oh, God!" I cried out, fighting the urge to smack him. "You scared the crap out of me! Were you waiting for me?" I nervously tugged my bag higher on my shoulder and took a deep breath. That was when I noticed that the dark, blue tattoo peeking slightly on his muscled peck—the exact same one he'd worn in my dream. Something I couldn't see completely. I stared at the strange peekaboo symbol and I couldn't take my eyes off it, wondering what it really looks like.

He ignored my question. "Are you all right?"

Had he heard my crying? How did he know? Wresting my gaze away from his mystery tattoo, I dismissed my thoughts and sternly asserted, "I'm fine."

"I need to talk to you." He wasn't smiling. In fact he didn't look cheerful at all, and his questioning gaze fell on my still-red cheek. I self-consciously covered it with my palm.

"About what? I have to get back to lunch." I started to walk around him, but he sidestepped in front of me, blocking my path. After what had just happened in the bathroom, I was not in the mood to deal with any more craziness.

"We need to talk about last night."

My stomach clenched, and the fear I had felt moments before came raging back into my body. "I don't know what you're talking about. I was home last night. There's nothing we need to—"

"Don't you remember?" He leaned into me, his dark blue eyes wide and tearing into my brown ones. He was so close that he was all I could feel, see, and smell. My senses were drowning in him.

"Remember what?" It was just a dream—it had to be. What happened could not have been real. I'd imagined it, just like I'd imagined the black spiderwebs on my face.

He took my arm and pulled me gently against the lockers when a couple students walked by. "The demon? The one that attacked you?" he asked in a harsh whisper.

"The what? What the hell are you on, Peter?" I tried to pull myself away, but he held me tighter. "Look, I'm not into that stuff, whatever it is, so—"

"Enough of this," he growled, leaning closer to me. "You need to accept what happened last night, no matter how much you don't want to. Pretending that it was just a dream or that I'm insane isn't going to help you. It'll only make things worse."

"I don't know what you're talking about!" I snarled through gritted teeth. I was desperate to keep my anger from causing more tears.

Peter took a breath and spoke his next words slowly. "Look, I feel awful and I don't want to scare you—"

"Well, you're doing a damn good job of it!"

"Just listen to me for a minute and I'll leave. Okay?"

I studied his face. He was really serious about this. I might as well humor him. "Fine."

He took another deep breath. He spoke slowly, but with an intensity that frightened me even more. "What you saw—what we saved you from—last night was a demon. Forget the scythe-wielding skeletons in long robes. This is real. Most don't need scythes, because they have teeth and claws for weapons. They eat you. They eat your flesh and your blood. They are created by the Black Wizard, a immortal Mage from our land. We believe that you are a very powerful person, someone who is scaring Him. I am a hired Mage, currently your bodyguard, sworn to protect and defend you. And you are making my job really difficult."

I stared at him for a few moments, unable to decide how to respond. I settled for the easy thing. "You're completely out of your mind."

"Damn it!" Peter threw his hands up. "This is ridiculous. I don't understand why you don't want to believe what's in front of you," He stepped away from me and clamped his hand over the top of his head. His voice was rapid and worried. "You need to understand that you are in great danger and you need our help. But we don't have that much time play around."

I backed away, my hand crawling along the wall, unable to make sense of anything he said. Then I noticed the metal chain around his neck, tucked into his shirt. An image flashed across my mind of something gleaming, dangling—it was some kind of crossed sword. It was like déjà vu, a memory I knew existed but didn't understand, if that made any sense at all.

"We need your help, Jace. You have something inside you that can beat him."

I raised a brow, "Help you?"

"Is there a problem, Miss Beckett?" I turned around to see one of the assistant principals, Mr. Abbot, standing behind me, looking from me to Peter. "Is he bothering you?" Mr. Abbot asked, clearly seeing that Peter was not someone I would be friends with. An accusing gaze lingered on the tattoo visibly peeping on his chest. To him, the tattoo must have been a sure sign of delinquency.

"A friend," Peter said. "I stopped by to bring some of Jace's homework she had forgotten at my house."

Mr. Abbot looked questioningly at me. "Is this true?"

I nodded. "Yes, sir. It's okay." I didn't know why I was covering for him. Maybe his craziness had rubbed off on me like a bad cold, or something worse.

He turned to us both. "I'm going to have ask you both to get moving. You've done Jace a good service by bringing her homework. However, that doesn't give you two an excuse to miss your next class, you'll need to be on your way."

Peter nodded. "That's fine. I'll say my good-byes and go." He stared intently at Mr. Abbot, refusing to budge. Strangely, my assistant principal made a peculiar face before he turned and left. "Jace, will you talk to me after school?" Peter asked me.

"No way," I said, turning my back to him.

He stepped around me so that we were face-to-face. "If you don't, then you won't be able to defend yourself."

I felt a shiver crawl up my spine as his eyes bored into mine, locking our gazes, his voice low and downright invasive. "Was that a threat?" I asked cautiously.

His expression gave nothing away. "They'll come for you."

That shiver turned into a brutal stab of fear straight into my gut. My pulse quickened and I pursed my lips together when I felt heat rushing into my face.

"Now that we have arrived, you're game to the demons. You're vulnerable and you're easy to strike."

I took a deep breath. "If you don't leave me alone, I'm going to scream for security and they're going to call the cops."

He watched me for a few moments. His jaw was clenched tightly and he sucked in his upper lip in frustration. "We are literally running out of time. Trouble will come to not only you, but your loved ones if you do not come help us." My throat tightened.

He flashed me that astonishing smile, only this time it held something different, something secretive. "Happy birthday, by the way. I'm sorry I didn't say that last night, but I have a gift for you. You passed out before I could give it to you." Peter pulled something out of his pocket and held out his hand. On his palm lay a pendant shaped like a gem, hanging on a gold chain. The necklace was gorgeous, ethereal, the colors so bright that they shimmered and appeared to glow in the light. When I blinked, the glow was gone.

"What is this?" I asked, marveling at the pendant.

"To protect you," he said, lifting my hand and placing the necklace on my palm. "It never tarnishes or fades. Always the same. Always permanent even when fate takes so much away." He gently closed my fingers around the pendant, his warm hands lingering a moment too long. "I'll talk to you soon."

I opened my hand to stare at the beautiful necklace. Brushing my fingers across the edges of the irregular, perfect form, I couldn't decide what it was made of. The pendant's surface was smooth and luminous, as if it were made of glass but something more precious than that. Its beauty lulled me, and I slipped into a strange, nostalgic trance; and the whispers of memories that couldn't have belonged to me surfaced in my mind.

"What is it made of?" I asked, but when I looked up, he was gone. I looked across the halls and behind me, and he was nowhere to be found. Like a frickin' ninja.

Distant images of Peter, Starfire, and Rose grew in my mind as I was walking to class. A demon lurking in the dark, of me running through alleys and forests, of the necklace in my hands. Things I shouldn't have remembered but did. I shook my head and stuffed the necklace into my purse.

Mages? A Black Wizard? I fell back against the lockers tiredly and rubbed my face with both hands. Why wouldn't those three just leave me alone? But Peter seemed to firmly believe that I was some kind of superhero, and that had to be the craziest thing I'd ever heard. As if that wasn't enough, he said he'd talk to me soon. Although I knew little about Peter, I knew for a fact that was a promise. I went back to lunch with my friends and tried to forget about him, but I couldn't. Fourth period came and went without incident other than Brit distracting me from the discussion of the week's assignment. Something about dress-shopping plans for Saturday's party outfits. Thankfully, that was the only other class I had with Brit, so I was able to concentrate a little more during my other classes. Fifth-period European history was mildly more interesting because I actually liked history. It was something I got easily, unlike economics.

As I sat at my table, ignoring my tablemate, who absently picked at his face, I found myself thinking about the night before. I tried to remember the horrible creature Peter had called a demon. The snarling, dead-eyed monster stared out at me from my memories, its enormous talons digging into the earth, ready to leap. Why would I dream about such awful things? I rubbed my arms, recalling the sensation of its fur brushing against my skin. Never had any nightmare felt so real, in my mind, on my skin, and in my heart.

I decided to imagine for a moment that Peter had been telling the truth. If I was indeed what he claimed, then the monster, was real. What did he mean when he said that some guy and dangerous people want me? I was so confused. Just trying to make sense of Peter's claims was enough to drive me crazy. I couldn't get past Peter's surprise that I was in denial. Of course, nothing happened—it was just a bad dream, and Peter was nuts. And I hope Rose and Starfire weren't either or playing along with his games. I feel like those two are genuine.

But how could he know so many details from my nightmare? He had even been playing this pronoun game, him, whoever that is. And his tattoo... I had not seen those when I'd met him yesterday. The first time I saw them was in my dream.

I pulled the necklace out of my purse and studied the delicate edges and intricate etchings.

Remember. I thought hard, shutting my eyes tightly and closing my fingers around my pendant. Remember, remember. What was I supposed to remember? I stared down at my history notes. If only my own history were written on those pages instead of Charlemagne's.

The events from the night before replayed over and over in my mind like a horror movie: the reaper stalking through the dark, charging at me as I swung those strange, flaming, sickle-shaped swords. So much blood...

And then my eyes went out of focus. I squeezed them shut and opened them again, turning my face away from the harsh light of the classroom to stare at the floor. The temperature plummeted, and I shivered and rubbed my arms. The floor blurred and my desk and all the faces around me vanished, leaving me alone in the dark and kneeling on a snowy ground. I stood and looked around me, and I saw the dense, shadowed forest closing in on me and felt the icy, unyielding wind on my face.

His jaws snapped at me, but I twisted away, and his teeth clamped down on earth and snow instead of flesh. With a desperate cry, I swung my sword as hard as I could. The blade cut deep through his neck, and his body burst into flames. The Demon's head toppled off his body and onto my face.

I cried out and my chair slipped out from under me. The racket echoed through the classroom as my butt hit the tile floor and the chair crashed.

Everyone around me was silent, too shocked to laugh, but I didn't dare look up. My entire body flushed with heat.

Oh God, oh God... Both my hands covered my face as I sat on the floor, absolutely mortified.

"Holy crap, Jace, are you okay?" asked my table partner.

I looked up to see his face peering down at me. "The chair... it slipped."


	6. Chapter 6

Hello everyone! I made changes to the previous chapter [B(S)-Day] so just check it out again so everything makes sense, thanks for reading! Comment and add -

Chapter 6: Truth Be Told

The monster lowered his head, and his muzzle formed a strange wolfish smile. His eyes were nearly invisible against his black fur, revealed only by the fire cast across their glossy surfaces.

The sound of rain and a soft gray light seeped through the blinds when I blinked once again from the vision. I find Mom standing at the kitchen stove scraping scrambled eggs into a serving bowl, already dressed and ready for work like any other day, her long, dyed-auburn hair still wet from the shower. She's humming to herself. She seems happy.

"Morning," I announce.

She turns, puts down the spatula, and crosses the linoleum to give me a quick hug. Her smile full of joy, like that time I won the district concerto competition in sixth grade: proud, but like she never expected anything less. "How is my adult daughter doing?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"What's wrong?" my mom said in complete worry. She stares at me, a flicker of fear crosses her face, like she's bracing for horrible news, like someone we know has died, "You have been acting odd lately. Is there something going on?"

"I couldn't sleep." I smile, but it's less jubilant than planned.

A cautious smile. She looks at me up and down like she'll be able to find evidence of the divine somewhere on my body. "Nervous about tomorrow?"

"No, I just keep having these nightmares. But they don't feel like nightmares." I shut my eyes and see it all again: the claws, the fear, and being saved.

"How do you know it wasn't just a dream?"

Because I wasn't asleep. All of this must have been new to her. She's not in that time when the supernatural stuff can be exciting and cool, and I never talk about a lot of personal stuff with my mom since we disagreed with several things.

"It's nothing, it was just a really lucid nightmare. It's not like it can happen in real life or something."

It happened again two hours later. I'm in the middle of jogging laps around the outside edge of the gymnasium, and suddenly it hits me, just like that. The world as I know it—Daylight and the gym—promptly vanishes. I'm in a forest. I can actually feel my fear. This time I see a boy with rosary pink hair.

And then I almost crash into a cheerleader.

"Watch it, dorkina!" she says.

I stagger to one side to let her pass. Breathing hard, I lean against the folded-up bleachers and try to get the memory back. But it's like trying to return to a dream after you're fully awake. It's gone.

Crap. No one's ever called me a dorkina before. Derivative of dork. Not good.

"No stopping," calls Mrs. Schwartz, my PE teacher. "We want to get an accurate record of how fast you can run a mile. That means you, Jace."

She must have been a drill sergeant in another life.

"If you don't make it in less than ten minutes you'll have to run it again next week," she hollers.

I start running. I try to focus on the task at hand as I swoop around the next corner, keeping my pace quick to make up some of the time I've lost. But my mind wanders back to the vision. The ground under my feet strewn with rocks and pine needles. The boy standing there with his back to me as he watches the fire approach. Or, he was on fire. My suddenly so-very-rapidly-beating heart.

"Last lap, Jace," says Mrs. Schwartz.

I speed up. Why is he there? I wonder, not closing my eyes but still seeing his image like it's burned onto my retinas. Did he go to this school? My mind races with questions, but underneath them all there is only one:

Who is he?

At that point I blow past Mrs. Schwartz, sprinting hard. "Good, Jace!" she calls. And then, a minute later, "That can't be right."

Slowing to a walk, I circle back to find out my time. "Did I get it under ten minutes?"

"I clocked you at five forty-eight." She sounds truly shocked. She looks at me like she's having a vision, of me on the track team.

"The watch must have been messed up," I explain, cause I've never been under nine minutes before. But either way, it means I will not have to run the stupid thing again next week.

"Yes," she says, nodding distractedly. "I must have started it wrong."

School flew by like a breeze. Friday's often that way. Everyone, including teachers and staff, just wanted to get the hell out of there and enjoy the weekend. The night before, I had fallen asleep almost upon impact with the pillow, and obviously I hadn't gotten any work done on my paper.

I drove home right after school to squeeze out three of the five pages needed for my lit paper. That night I wore the crystal necklace Peter had given me. It felt right wearing it, like it was some bubble protecting me from my negative thoughts. The feeling was comforting, and the necklace was beautiful. I loved it.

I met Brit and Evan at the theater, and we were soon joined by Mady and Nathan. As soon as I arrived, Brit noticed my necklace.

"Where did you get that?" she asked, gaping at the pendant and examining it closely. "It looks so boho. So gorgeous."

"Yeah, it's really pretty." I didn't want to tell her Peter had given it to me, or that it supposedly protects me with magic.

"I'm going to steal it," Brit said, and walked away.

It was chilly outside, so I was glad I was wearing a hoodie over my tank top. We wouldn't have many more forty-degree days in December. The movie was all right, with some pretty good special effects, but I couldn't focus enough to enjoy it as much as my friends seemed to. I had already forgotten most of the plot by the time we all left the theater, with my friends chattering about how sweetly some random henchman had taken a knife to the head and how the hero had escaped the burning train. The boys were pretty stuck on recalling how hot the love interest was.

I found myself looking in the darkest places around me, fearful of what might leap out from the shadows. I wondered if I would pass someone on the sidewalk who might be killed by a demon. If I was to be some kind of hero, how many people would I be unable to save? I couldn't even eat fries without dripping ketchup on myself. How could I be responsible for someone else's life when I couldn't even be responsible for my own shirt?

"You okay, J?" Brit asked, lowering her head to whisper into my ear. "You seem so distant and quiet."

I heard someone cough loudly behind me. It was a derisive sort of cough, the kind of noise someone might make who was trying not to laugh out loud.

I turned around.

Several feet away from me was the boy. The boy I saw while I was running. His arms were bare and his left arm covered with faint white lines like old scars. His neck bore a white muffler; I could see he was only wearing a black tank top, some pair of jeans, and a bean over his head to cover the pink hair. He was looking right at me, the side of his mouth quirked in amusement. Worse than the feeling of being laughed at was my absolute conviction that he had been standing there five minutes ago. Waiting outside the theater for me.

I nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. I've just got to get going."

"Huh?" Brit asked, surprised. "Are you ditching us early again?"

Evan overheard and jogged up beside me, throwing an arm over my shoulder. "You'd better not be thinking about bailing. It's only ten and your party is tomorrow. There's got to be a preparty and then an after party. And a day-after party. Stay out later. Your paper can wait. I haven't even started mine."

"No, it's not my paper." I didn't want to lie, but a partial truth would do. "I'm meeting Peter in a little bit." Evan's arm became stiff around my shoulder.

Brit's eyes bulged. "You mean that hot guy in cosplay? You're going on a date with him?"

I put my hands up defensively, not wanting them to get the wrong idea. "No, no, no. It's not a date...When he transferred Coach told me that I had to tutor him." Now that was the best cover-up.

"Honey, it's Friday night, and when it's just you and him hanging out, that's a date. He's hot as hell, so have fun, okay?" Brit winked.

Mady nodded. "Yeah, he is. Let me know if you don't want him! I will gladly take him off your hands." She laughed and playfully pinched me in the side. I twisted away uncomfortably.

Evan's expression turned dark and he withdrew his arm. "Are you serious? You're going somewhere with that guy? You don't even know him!"

"Yeah, do you think his sisters need a tutor too?" Nathan asked.

"One, yeah he's a little strange, and two, no Nathan. They're smarter than you." I said, "Look, I have to go. Now."

"See you later, J," Mady said.

"Be safe," Kate said. "Just call me if you want me to bail you out."

I nodded. "See you bright and early? We'll get to Somerset around eleven? Maybe lunch while we're there?"

"Sounds great!" She smiled, and then her expression wiped clean.

I looked over to the guy again and he waved at me, moving his way towards a alley. I stared at him and he raised his left hand to wave at me. One foot forward and he began walking, unhurriedly, toward a alley. My lips parted in surprise. He was leaving, just like that.

I sprang off, forgetting the I wasn't going to my car. I raced toward him, leaving everyone staring after me.

"Jace," said a voice as soon as I turned a hard left.

I was shocked to see Starfire. "Starfire! What are you doing outside?"

Her eyes flickered to the necklace around my neck and a warm smile shaped her lips. "We were going to meet, remember?" I didn't see the boy anymore and couldn't see anything in the dark alley.

I sighed and accepted it, "R-right."

Looking down, she wasn't wearing her bunny outfit, but a very trench coat over her turtle, skirt, and stockings. Just a closet change made me realize how beautiful and stunning she really was.

The smallest smile formed in the corner of her mouth. "So you believe us."

"I don't want to." I said immediately, "But something is going on."

"Don't worry, we will explain everything when everyone else arrives." She looks around,

I stood there seething for a moment. She obviously wasn't going to give me a straight answer, but my phone started to vibrate erratically. It was my dad: Albert. "Hold on, I need to get this." I said.

She nodded in full understanding, in a way that made her seem a lot older and mature than I perceived.

"Hi, Dad," I say into the phone on speaker.

"Hi." There's a pause. Three words into our conversation and he's already out of things to say.

"So what's the occasion?"

For a moment he doesn't say anything. I sigh.

For years I used to practice this speech about how mad I was at him for leaving Mom and Allen. I was three years old when they split. I didn't remember them fighting. All I retained from the time they were together are a few brief flashes. A birthday party. An afternoon at a beach. Him standing at the sink shaving. And then there's the brutal memory of the day he left, me standing with Allen in the driveway, her holding me on her hip and crying brokenheartedly as he drove away. I can't forgive him for that. I can't forgive him for a lot of things. For moving clear out of state to get away from us. For not calling enough. For never knowing what to say when he does call. But most of all I can't get past the way Mom's face pinches up whenever she hears his name.

Mom won't discuss what happened between them any more than she'll dish about her fashion nightmares. But here's what I do know: My mother is as close to being the perfect woman as this world is likely to see. She's beautiful. She's smart and funny. She is musical. And he gave her up. He gave us all up. And that, in my book, makes him a fool.

"I just wanted to know if you're okay," he says finally.

"Why wouldn't I be okay?"

He coughs. "I mean, it's rough being a teenager, right? High school. Boys."

Now this conversation has gone from unusual to downright strange. "Right," I say. "Yeah, it's rough."

"Your mom says your grades are good."

"You talked to Mom?"

Another silence.

"How's life in the Big Apple?" I ask, to steer the conversation away from myself.

"The usual. Bright lights. Big city. I saw Derek Jeter in Central Park yesterday. It's a terrible life. Oh, I was thinking," he says now. "Maybe you and Allen could come to New York."

I almost laugh at his timing. "I'd like to," I say, "but I kind of have something important going on right now."

He doesn't say anything.

"Sorry," I say, and I shock myself by actually meaning it. "I'll let you know if things change."

"Happy late-birthday, by the way." He's clearly trying to change the subject, "I have a meeting just at Bellevue this summer, you think we can celebrate when I come to town?"

My mouth drops open. He's just full of surprises.

And then I smell smoke.

The fire must have been close. But I don't see it. I don't see people outside running. And I must have been dreaming cause I'm not in my car anymore.

A hot gust of gritty wind sends my hair flying out of its ponytail. I cough and turn away from the blast, swiping hair out of my face.

I'm in the vision, and the vision is moving on. I turn away from the fire and walk quickly into some trees. Smoke drifts across the forest floor. Somewhere close by I hear a crack, like a branch falling. Then I see a boy, someone I have never met. His back turned. The fire suddenly licking the top of the ridge. The danger so obvious, so close. The crushing sadness descends on me like a curtain dropping. My throat closes. I want to help him. I step toward him.

"Jocelyn? You okay?" My dad's voice. I float back to myself.

I'm leaning against a brick wall, staring out the street where a hummingbird hovers near my mom's feeder, a blur of wings. It darts in, takes a sip, then flits away.

"Jace?" Starfire sounds alarmed. Still dazed, I dropped my phone.

"Jace," Starfire whispers urgently close to my ear. "Hey!"

I jerk back to earth. Dark alley.

Peter, Rose, Starfire, and Mystery Boy.

They were all staring at me. "What's going on?"

I'm dazed, disconnected, like some part of me is still up in the sky with a bird.

"Your hair's, like, shining," murmurs Rose. She glances away like she's embarrassed.

I look down. Gasp. Shining is not the word. My hair is an iridescent silvery-gold riot of light and color. It blazes. It catches the light like a mirror reflecting the sun. I slide my hand down the warm, luminous strands, and my heart, which seemed to beat so slowly a few moments before, begins to thump painfully fast. What's happening to me?

Mystery Boy kept looking over at me like I'm about to burst into flames.

"I didn't do anything. It just happened." I exclaimed finally.

When I looked at the other three for some sort of explanation, I didn't recognize Peter without his blonde hair. His hair was shaggy-like, and this guy had a color of dark blue and black, and wore a white collar shirt and black pants that had a singular chain hanging.

"What is wrong with me? What is going on here?"

"So, you're remembering then?" Rose said, wearing a pink sweater over a white collar with a jean and boots. Her hair was up in a ponytail.

I shook my head, "Sure, I guess, but I'm not here because I want to help you with these demons, I want answers. I've been seeing and doing things I can't explain, having these random flashes, these scenarios or - or - visions the past two days, and then THIS?" I lifted a strand of my hair.

"You're the Bellator." Lucy said.

"I don't know what that means because I know who I am. I don't even know who you guys are." I said as I clench my fist, "I knew you guys were fishy the first time I met you. Your obviously made-up names from Google and your lack of knowledge of this modern era." I started reviewing in my head what Peter was talking about yesterday, "Let me guess, you're all Mages huh?" I said sarcastically.

"Yes. We have been told that you know who we are. That's why we were chosen to come here for you. Because when we tell you our real names, you will trust us." Starfire had this very stern look, giving off this whole Wonder Woman persona, and had her arms even crossed when she spoke.

It all sounded so covert. I was having a difficult time believing that I was taking part of this charade. "Right, and judging by your getup, you guys must be Team Natsu from Fairy Tail right?" I joked.

"She knows my NAME!!" NATSU exclaimed, "Aha!! So she is the one Lucy!!"

LUCY shushed him immediately, "Can you be any louder? We're trying to be discreet dummy! Will your lungs ever die from exhaustion?" Lucy said as she rolled her eyes.

"Oh come on, that proves that it was toooootally safe if I went undercover with you guys! But you know what I did instead of going to that boring castle-looking-school? I tried this thing called, a hover board!" He jumps in excitement, "These guys had a blue one, a yellow one, a black one, and a red one! I don't know what kind of lacrima they used to drive their feet around, but one guy was nice enough for me to try one!"

Lucy slapped her head in frustration, "Erza, Gray, we shouldn't have let him out all by himself in this place."

ERZA looked at him disappointed, "Nastu. You were suppose to help and search for clues."

Natsu scoffed, "I did! By riding on the hover board!"

"Did you steal it from the owner??" Lucy said worriedly.

Natsu paused, "Well...I kind of broke it. Ran. And ended up running for a while from those dudes."

"You are a real idiot, you know that?" Lucy said and hit his back.

He winced, "Ow! Hey! At least I didn't use magic! That makes not a real idiot." He exclaims and crossed his arms to pout.

I could see it completely. Not to mention how they look now, but the tattoo! "You guys aren't real! Your world doesn't exist!"

"How do you know your world is not real?" GRAY said jokingly.

I rolled my eyes, "I'm not kidding. You guys are NOT real." I pulled out my phone, searching through Google. "See? You're characters!"

Natsu was mesmerized, "Are these those light boxes you guys were talking about?!" He immediately snatched it from my hand.

"H-hey! It's a iPhone and those aren't durable!"

"Yes, cellphones." Erza said with crossed arms, "They are these devices that do not require a lacrima."

Gray grabbed the phone from Natsu, "Give it back, Flamebrain. You're gonna break another technology from this world."He insisted physically but tugging it away from him, but when he looked down on the screen, he scrolled down to something that made him look at me. "What are smuts?"

I gasped and grabbed my phone from him, "H-how far down in the internet did you scroll down??"

"So you trust us now!" Natsu said cheerfully.

My gaze lifted to her. "Nuh-uh."

"You don't have to trust us, but we want you to believe us." Lucy said.

I shook my head furiously, "Believe what exactly? That four people from literally a magical land, is in Seattle, Washington."

Erza stepped forward, "Throughout our lives monsters, people, and our land has been influenced and effected by Zeref's magic, and you are catching his attention." she said with an edge to her voice that forced shivers through my body, "A lot of his attention, hence the demons."

"But no worries, there are only a few." Lucy said, "The lacrima Gray gave you has been camouflaging your presence. As you can tell, not a single demon has come to attack you."

Speaking of the attack, "But wait, how come I wasn't able to see it at first?"

"People in your world cannot see them as what they truly are, only those with magic within them." Erza points out.

"I have some magic?"

He nodded, "Seeing them proves it."

"What if I'm psychic, like the ones who sometimes see things others can't?"

"No."

"Then how can I see them?"

"I don't know. You're the Bellator."

"That doesn't give me a straight answer," I said, frowning.

Erza shook her head tiredly, "We don't know what you really are. You don't posses any obvious magic energy...but something is very different. There are a lot of things about you that we still don't understand."

I had a million more questions, but are these the answers I want to hear? There were flashes of images, of terrible things, battles and blood, scattered across my memory in distorted fragments. How could I adapt to this? I wasn't dreaming anymore. My skin felt raw like I had hit the ground. My arm ached when I remembered the attack. Dreams never hurt you. This was real. My nightmares had become real. I was frightened, and I didn't want to have to deal with this. Wasn't it enough worrying about getting into college?

I crumpled to the ground next to dumpster. I recalled at the enormous gashes and the dent in Marshmallow's fender. I'm lucky mom wasn't going to kill me, "This is all real, isn't it?"

"Are you going to black out on us again?" Gray asked

"No, I'm okay," I said. "Sort of. So then—I did black out that night?"

"Yeah. You hit the ground pretty hard afterward."

Heat crept into my cheeks. "Thank you for getting me back to my room."

I looked up at him, and his gaze met mine."I wasn't going to just leave you there," he said.

"So what now? What do you want from me?"

Lucy carefully placed her hand on my shoulder for comfort, "We need you to come with us. To Earthland."

I bolted up from the ground, my legs like jello, "There's no way I'm missing my own birthday party."

"It is better for us to protect you if we can use our magic. We have allies and Mages who are willing to aid you under your name." Erza said.

I shook my head tiredly, "This is a lot," I mumbled, I dug my cell out and checked the time, then shoved my phone back into my bag. It was after ten. Fantastic. I'd never be able to get anything written on my paper and wake up with a working brain in the morning. Strangely, my homework seemed quite insignificant. "I need to get home. My mom's gonna flip."

"I'll stick around close." Gray said, stepping very close to me.

His closeness alarmed me for a moment, and then I felt my unease melt away. It was really odd, my reaction to his presence. Perhaps it was because he was the first one to protect me. That should have made anyone feel pretty safe, right? Perhaps it was the fact that he was my anime boy crush, until Brit told me to find another bias since Gruvia was her OTP.

"I'd like if at least some of you are at the party," I said. "To protect me."

Natsu slammed his fists together, "I'll guard on the roof!"

"You don't have to be creepers to guard me, you know. Come to my party and experience my world. Have fun."

"We have fun here." Erza said.

I scoffed. "I'm pretty sure our ideas of fun vary drastically."

Lucy flashed me a grin. "We can show you what a real party is back home!"

I frowned, "Look. I owe you all for saving my life, making me safe since the attack, and lifting my chest by answering questions for me." I clenched onto the lacrima necklace, "But I am not going to your world. I don't know how I'm suppose to stop Zeref, and I can't leave my whole life behind. I have my friends, college, my mom."

"Your life in this world is good here, we have experienced that." Erza said, "But the longer you ignore your fate, the more danger that will come of this land, not just ours."

I picked up my stuff and grabbed my car keys, "I-I promise I'll give you my answer. I just need to think this through, de-stress myself, and then I'll make my decision."

They could tell how exhausted I was and understood that it was their time to leave. They all understood, nodded, and started walking away

I couldn't help it and spoke to Gray one last time, "So will you come? Indoors, too, and enjoy the party?"

His smile was sly. "Don't you think Evan will have a problem with that?"

"How did you—? Oh, right."

"I've seen the way he looks at you," he said. "What shocks me is that you don't."

"Well, now that it's been pointed out to me, I just may."

He drew his face close to mine. "You don't read people very well, do you?"

I did a hmph and I turned away from him, "You're sure of yourself, aren't you?"

"You have no idea." I felt a sudden warmth behind me, like his body was close, "Good-bye, Jace," he whispers.

I spun around, looking for him, but he was nowhere to be seen.

"Gray?"

The street was dark, and the wind blew leaves and old papers down the sidewalk—the only movement I could see. "I am so sick of you pulling this Batman shit on me!" Exhausted and angry, I got back in my car and drove home.


End file.
